The present invention relates generally to Internet based design. Particularly, the present invention relates to a table-driven tool for guiding a user through the design of a product.
In allowing users to design and order their own customized products, several problems may arise. For instance, users often may not take into consideration a variety of mechanical, electrical, or physical characteristics of a product.
Allowing users to select and design components typically also requires a user to have access to the database storing the appropriate information. This causes problems not only in areas of database security, but also in the fact that any database update requires taking the system offline for a certain period of time.
Another problem that often arises with such systems is the need to make revisions to logic or features of the system. It is a tedious and costly process to develop, release, integrate, and support entirely new versions of a system each time a new feature is to be added or a new approach implemented.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to develop an automated design tool that guides users through the design process and allows updating or changing of system logic without revision of the entire system, while maintaining data security and allowing system updating or servicing without system down time.
The present invention includes a table-driven system for guiding a user through the design of an electronic component. The system utilizes data tables that are adapted to house data relating an electronic component. A modular program is used to extract data from these tables. The modular program contains system logic to utilize this data in guiding the user through the process. A terminal is then used to allow a user to make selections from the choices prompted by the modular program and complete the design process.
Also included in the present invention is a method for guiding a user through the design of an electronic component. First, the user is prompted to select the type of electronic component to be designed. The appropriate block is then activated for that electronic component, where the block is adapted to interface with data tables in order to prompt the user to enter selections for each feature of the selected component type. The selections are then collected for each feature in response to these prompts. The requirements for the selections are checked and the feasibility of the design determined. Once the user has completed the steps for a feasible electronic component, the user is prompted to approve the device.